Azleet earned herself a tilt at the Betfred 1000 Guineas with a shock victory in the Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes at Newmarket.
The Stuart Williams-trained three-year-old won twice from seven juvenile starts last season but having come up short when previously tested at Listed and Group-race level, she was a widely unconsidered 50-1 shot for her reappearance in this leading trial for the first fillies' Classic of the year.
Settled at the rear of the 12-strong field by Marco Ghiani during the early part of the seven-furlong contest, Azleet started to make her move inside the last three furlongs and really found her stride once hitting the rising ground.
She settled down to fight it out with America Queen in the final half-furlong and finished off best to prevail by a neck, with Act Of Kindness a length and a half further behind in third.
Azleet comes out on top in the G3 @Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes for @WilliamsStuart pic.twitter.com/5sIhjIkJEM
— Newmarket Racecourse (@NewmarketRace) April 15, 2026
Williams said: "We’ll go there and roll the dice in the 1000 Guineas and it’s going to be a special time for me to have a Group One runner in a race at Newmarket. We came here to see if we were good enough to take up the entry and we got our answer.
"She had a lot to find today on figures, but the last race she ran in last year she missed the break by four lengths and then had a terrible run through the race. She got no run at all, finished strongly and didn’t get beat too far by Spicy Marg who is quite a good filly.
"Marco has given her a brilliant ride today and settled her in at the back. She got a little keen at halfway, but has come home strong. She’s a high-class filly and has won a Group Three, so why not have a go at the Guineas?
"It’s really difficult for a yard of our size and spending power to find horses like this. We’ve been lucky and we get one every couple of years, but we have two at the moment – this filly and Quinault – and it’s exciting."
